


cool it down

by rubanrose



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Curses, F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 08:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16929825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubanrose/pseuds/rubanrose
Summary: in a world where everyone is given a curse that only disappears when they meet with their soulmate, jungeun spends her life burning up as if her body was made of fire





	cool it down

**Author's Note:**

> i meant to write a whole series of these, but it seems pointless as there can be no interactions before they meet. i might try, if there's demand. i hope you all enjoy

There was a kid in Jungeun’s class whose curse was that she was too lucky. It was strange to witness it happen; objects would magically move out of her way when she’d stumble, she would win every contest she participated in, and on one of the most windy days of the year, Jungeun saw her outside, her hair flying behind her in beautiful waves, as if the sole purpose of the wind was to make her look pretty. The day she met her soulmate, that same girl broke her little toe on a door frame as a proof that luck had left her, and after that day, she lived an easy life with her loved one. It was as if curses were just a fun game, and not something that could ruin one’s life. 

Jungeun hadn’t been so lucky with her curse. She had woken up a few days after her 13th birthday with one foot into adolescence, the curse setting in overnight. It was  _ too hot.  _

It was late February, and icy rain was falling outside. Jungeun had dug up her summer uniform from the back of her closet and had walked outside without a coat on, drops on sweat running down her back. 

Rain droplets would hiss and turn into steam at the contact of her skin. 5 years later Jungeun couldn’t even remember how it felt like to be cold. She walked out in the coldest winter days in a t-shirt, and could barely leave the house in the summer, taking long cold showers and sitting by the fan while chewing on ice, blinds closed to avoid sunlight and the A/C set at the lowest temperature possible. 

One could say she was lucky she hadn’t gotten a blindness or deafness curse. She couldn’t see how any of those would be worse than her curse. 

It was on a fall day that she stumbled onto a flicker of hope. The weather was still warm enough that she brought her umbrella and portable electric fan with her outside, but she loved fall because it meant winter was coming and she’d have a few easier months until summer was back. Her mood was better than it had been in months when she typed in the forum url on a school computer, an electric fan placed by her side. Her classmates were in the gym, but she was exempted from any physical activity that could have her body temperature rising higher, spending those periods catching up on homework or losing time online. 

She had avoided the forum for weeks before, knowing it ruined her mood during her lonely summer weeks. She scrolled through pages and pages of people relating their first meeting with their loved one and their curse being lifted. She scrolled down the thread where people talked about their curse, always feeling a bit better hearing about other people’s misery. 

The username was  _ chuuchuu20 _ . 

_ «My curse is that I’m always cold. All year I’m wrapped in a thick scarf, layers and layers of clothing to keep me from shaking. I run to places rather than walk, so my body temperature can rise, and on most winter days my lips turn blue and my teeth chatter. Every day winter gets closer and every day I become more desperate. I  _ cannot  _ stand this any longer. Please, does anyone know about someone whose curse could be connected to mine?»  _

It was as if ice suddenly coated Jungeun’s heart, painful, heavy ice, completely out of place in her burning body. One of her hand closed onto her dress shirt, wincing at the pain. She thought of that time her sister had put a frozen dish in the oven without thinking, making the ceramic plate explode in there from the thermal shock. She imagined the mess she would make in the library if she was to explode in a similar way.

And as quickly as the sensation had come, it went away, a new wave of heat hitting Jungeun. By the time Yerim stumbled through the door with a popsicle from the school store, Jungeun was so hot her vision had gotten blurry. She wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt before snatching the popsicle from her friend’s grip, thanking the universe for Yerim. 

The younger girl’s curse was a blessing to Jungeun. She couldn’t feel anything on her skin, and as annoying as her lack of sensory nerves could be, it meant she was the only one who could touch Jungeun without getting hurt. 

“What’cha doin,” Yerim asked, leaning over her shoulder to read on the computer screen. 20 seconds later, she was falling down on a chair next to Jungeun, eyes wide and round like two little full moons. 

Not all curses had a direct opposite, but most people’s curses had a logic connection to their soulmate’s. One who’s always hot, and one who’s always cold, it seemed almost too perfect to be true. 

“Wow,” said Yerim. She blinked a few times before snatching the mouse from Jungeun and clicking on  _ chuuchuu20 _ ’s profile. She hadn’t uploaded a picture, but her location was Seoul and Yerim quickly scrolled down the her wall. “Come on, leave a comment!” 

Jungeun sat there, as still as a statue, chewing onto the last of her popsicle and blanking out on what to say. 

Yerim sighed and rolled Jungeun’s chair away from the computer, taking her spot. She typed quickly, and before Jungeun had time to react, she had clicked send. 

“Ya, Choi Yerim, you’re dead!” Jungeun yelled, getting up to go after her younger friend who was already walking away, her loud laughter echoing in the hall. 

_ «hey i’m Jungeun and i’m reaaallyyyy hot, figuratively and literally ;-) i think u need me to heat u up»  _

 

* * *

It had taken hours for the mysterious commenter to reply, even after Jungeun had sent another comment to apologize. 

The name was Kim Jiwoo, and as Jungeun laid on her bed in shorts and a tank top that seemed like too much clothing, her window wide open for the autumn wind to come in, a slight, tiny spark of hope appeared in her heart. 

Her phone vibrated by her side, a new Line message from Jiwoo appearing in her notifications. It was strange to describe, the way her heart hammered in her chest as she read Jiwoo’s messages. The other girl used Hello Kitty stickers and ended all of her sentences with a cute emoji. Jungeun was a self appointed bad bitch, but she couldn’t help but smile at it. 

They spent hours texting back and forth, getting to know each other and sharing fears and hopes that Jungeun wouldn’t have willingly shared with anyone before the Hello Kitty stickers magically forced them out of her. The sun was about to rise when sleep overtook her and Jungeun woke up as sweaty and sticky as ever and barely awake enough to keep her eyes open, but with a light heart that only got lighter with the good morning hello kitty sticker Jiwoo had sent her. 

Jungeun nearly killed herself three times on her way to school, walking through traffic and bumping into people and one time into a parked car. Jiwoo and her were messaging back and forth and it was so distracting she could ignore the heat that made her constantly nauseous and the stares she got for walking around in her light clothes on a day that required a heavy sweater. 

Yerim had watched her with raised eyebrows, standing in front of Jungeun until the girl was physically unable to ignore her. 

“Good morning my little sun,” said Yerim, pinching Jungeun’s burning cheek without feeling anything. 

“I’d kill you for that, but I’m too busy,” Jungeun replied, giving Yerim a forced smile before going back to her phone to text a quick  _ brb _ to Jiwoo. 

“This is really a shame, you know. You’ll get rid of your curse and by the time I can feel again,” she raised her hands, wiggling her fingers, “you won’t even be hot anymore.”

“Hey, don’t wish for me to stay in hell any longer than I am,” complained Jungeun. “Plus, I’ll always be figuratively hot at least,” she added, winking suggestively. 

She placed her phone in the pocket of her skirt. Soulmate or not, she had promised herself years before that Yerim would always get some of her time, no matter what was on her mind. 

Jungeun had been very lonely after getting her curse. Her friends had started avoiding her, scared of getting hurt by touching her. Plus, the girl was insufferable most of the time, her constant heat related nausea, dizziness and extreme sweating keeping her in a bad mood. Most people had gotten tired of her.

But then there was Yerim. By the time they met, Jungeun had lost most of her friends and spent her days running after shadows and cold places while listening to heavy metal to pretend she was a bad ass. Yerim hadn’t had her curse yet, a sweet 12 years old with friends falling out of her pockets, and yet there was something that had brought Yerim to Jungeun. 

And it had become a game to find ways to keep Jungeun as cold as possible. They went on winter adventures, and spent summers watching movies in a dark basement, Yerim wearing her winter coat to keep herself warm while insisting to keep all the fans on. Jungeun had been extremely careful, never letting Yerim touch her. 

And when Yerim’s curse settled during the chinese new year vacation, the girl had ran outside without her coat on in the middle of February, not feeling the cold on her skin. Her fingers were turning purple by the time she had reached Jungeun’s house, but she was smile so big when her friend opened the door. Yerim had taken her friend in her arms for the first time and Jungeun had burst into tears. 

Life was funny, sometimes. Yerim had been there for her when she had no one, as moody and mean as Jungeun could be. There had been no reason for her to stay, but she had been a gift from the universe, and even her curse had seemed like a miracle. Yerim was the only one who could offer a shoulder to cry on, and she didn’t have to. But she still did, and even the worst of days seemed a little better when she was around. 

And so Jungeun had tried to make it easier for Yerim too, because even though she pretended to be happy about the curse, there were times where her eyes betrayed her and Jungeun could see she was sad. There were scars and bruises all over her because she couldn’t feel it when she got hurt. She’d fall sick all the time because she couldn’t tell whether the day was warm or cold. And when Yerim pet her cat without feeling the soft fur under her fingers, her eyes were so sad. Jungeun couldn’t be to Yerim what the younger girl was to her, but she could try her best. 

Kim Jiwoo could wait 15 minutes, because Jungeun was spending some time with her best friend. 

“After I get rid of this stupid curse, I’ll do whatever it takes to help you find your soulmate,” declared Jungeun. 

Yerim rolled her eyes. “You can’t force it. My soulmate will come when it’s time.” 

“You’re so wise and mature,” cooed Jungeun, patting the younger girl’s head. 

Yerim grabbed her friend’s arm as they were about to part to go to their own classroom. They locked eyes.

“I’ll always be your best friend, right? Even after you have her, and you can lead a normal life again?” asked Yerim, her face wearing an expression graver than Jungeun had ever seen her with. 

“Of course. You’re the only one who stood by me. Years won’t erase themselves just because my curse is gone.” 

Yerim gave a small smile before letting go of Jungeun. 

“Okay, now what the hell are you doing here? Go get your girl!” 

Jungeun’s eyes widened first with the surprise, then her eyebrows scrunched up together as she thought about it. 

“You’re right. I’m getting out of here,” Jungeun said, and Yerim laughed as the blonde girl sprinted down the stairs as the first bell rang. 

Jungeun stopped herself on the first floor. Class had started, so there was no way the guards would let her leave without her teacher’s approval. If the front gate wasn’t a possibility, then she’d have to sneak out another way. 

Behind the library building, the top of the fence was broken, allowing students to climb out unnoticed. The camera hanging in the corner was not working, just like most of the cameras around the school, and the boys in her class often boasted about how they snuck out all the time. Jungeun had only done it once, that time Yerim had forgotten to wear shoes out on a winter day and had seriously hurt her feet in the cold. She had brought hot chocolate to the hospital and Yerim had spent the afternoon relating her ambulance ride. 

She climbed on the fence, trying to imagine herself looking like those guys who do parkour on youtube. Jumping down on the other side, she heaved a sigh of relief at not being caught before realizing she didn’t know where Jiwoo’s school was.

_ ‘Hey i might have just snuck out of school to go meet you’ _

It took three seconds for Jiwoo to text back a meeting place and time. 

 

* * *

There was a small park near one of the exits of the subway station they were meeting at, and that was where Jungeun had decided to wait. It was pretty at that time of year, orange leaves flying around in their descent to the ground, everyone wrapped up in cute scarves, the frigid wind making the tip of their nose red. 

Jungeun couldn’t wait to be like them, wrapped up in warm clothes, feeling the cold wind on her skin. 

And then she saw her. 

Kim Jiwoo was running up the stairs, hair covered with a warm hat with kitty ears on top, what seemed to be five jackets on top of each other protecting her from the cold and a big, warm yellow scarf wrapped around her neck. Her hands were protected by cute mittens. 

But it was her smile that had Jungeun’s chest constrict, wide and bright like the sun. Looking at her, Jungeun remembered what the sun used to feel like before the curse. It was warm and bright and comforting, and Jungeun knew that all the fire in her body would be replaced by a girl who could rival the sun. 

And Jiwoo looked up. 

As soon as their locked eyes, it left her, starting with her toes, climbing up until Jungeun felt the wind on her skin, hugging her for the first time in years. 

As quickly as it welcomed her back, the wind reminded her it was fall. 

Jiwoo took the few steps separating them as Jungeun shivered, her hands rubbing her uncovered arms. And she was  _ so  _ happy. 

Jiwoo finally stepped in front of her, laughing as she unwrapped her scarf and wrapped it around Jungeun’s neck. 

“I think I could spare a coat or two for you, you seem a bit cold,” Jiwoo joked, and at the sound of her voice shivers ran down the blonde girl’s back. 

“I’m so  _ cold, _ ” said Jungeun blissfully, and it only make Jiwoo laugh more as she threw her mittens to the ground, peeling off three layers of clothing until she stood there in a thick sweater and a windbreaker, handing Jungeun her padded jacket. 

The girl happily took it. Jiwoo zipped her up, wrapping the scarf more tightly around Jungeun’s neck. 

“I’m gonna need some winter clothes,” admitted Jungeun. “I grew up quite a bit since the last time I could wear them.”

“That’s not a problem, I have a closet full, and I’m guessing you might be able to lend me some summer clothes.” 

 

* * *

 

They sat side by side at the window counter in a convenience store. Jiwoo was eating ice cream, a sweet treat she had denied herself the pleasure of eating for years, as she was already cold enough and was trying not to make it worse. Jungeun had fuming instant noodles in front of her, as it was one of the warm foods she had missed the most. 

“You know, even if you’re not literally hot anymore, you’re still hot,” Jiwoo admitted, trying to wink but only managing to close both eyes at once, making the comment sound like a joke more than anything. 

Jungeun laughed and laughed, feeling light, as if life had finally opened itself up for her. She reached for her hair tie, pulling it out and letting her hair hug the sides of her face for the first in years. 

Jiwoo watched her without a word. 

“What are you thinking about?” asked Jungeun. 

“I’m thinking that there’s no way being with you won’t make up for the past few years,” she said, and maybe, just maybe, Jungeun thought curses were not so stupid after all. 

 


End file.
